Chapter 12: Creating Your Own Systems
Chapter 12 — Creating Your Own Systems
Recipe 12: The Foundation Breakfast (Two Ways)
"Master one meal. Build from there."
You Don't Need More Recipes. You Need a System.
After years of engineering solutions for my own family, here's what I know: willpower fails. Systems win.
You don't need 100 recipes. You need 12 you can make half-asleep. You don't need perfection. You need patterns that fit your actual life—the one with work deadlines, picky eaters, budget constraints, and Tuesday nights when nobody has any energy left.
This chapter is your operating manual. Use it when you're starting out. Return to it when life gets chaotic and you need to reset.
1) Your Core System (aka "The Twelve")
Pick your 12 recipes from this book—or swap in your own. The principles stay the same: real ingredients, simple preparation, repeatable rhythms.
Decide your rhythm:
Anchor a few to specific days (Taco Tuesday, Fish Friday, Spaghetti Squash Sunday)
Or keep them as a rotating deck you pull from based on what's fresh
Make each recipe a kit:
Name + 10-item grocery list
3 easy swaps (if salmon's expensive, use sardines)
"Use-ups" for leftovers (yesterday's chicken → today's taco filling)
Mini-prompt to post on your fridge:
"What's tonight's anchor? What's my color? What's my acid?"
Anchor = protein or star vegetable
Color = a seasonal vegetable or fruit (eat the rainbow)
Acid = lemon/lime/vinegar/herb sauce (makes everything taste alive)
2) The 2×/Week Shop Playbook
Most families do best with two smaller shops per week instead of one overwhelming haul.
Shop A (Sunday or Monday):
Proteins for Mon–Wed
Hardy vegetables (cabbage, carrots, onions, squash)
Herbs, eggs, pantry staples
Shop B (Thursday or Friday):
Fish for the week
Leafy greens, berries, delicate vegetables
Fresh herb top-ups
Lists on speed-dial: Save them in your phone as "Groceries A" and "Groceries B." Don't rethink it every week—just reuse what works.
3) One-Hour Prep That Changes Everything
Pick 4 of these tasks on a Sunday (or whenever you have an hour):
Roast a rainbow sheet pan (two trays: roots on one, brassicas on the other)
Cook one basic protein (air-fried chicken thighs or batch of burger patties)
Blend/whisk two sauce bars (chimichurri + lemon-tahini live in the fridge all week)
Batch cauli rice, wash and box greens, soft-boil 6 eggs
If time allows: Start a pot of bone broth or portion freezer meatballs.
This one hour protects your entire week. Future you will weep with gratitude.
4) The 10-Minute Daily Reset
Every night before bed:
Clear the sink
Set the dishwasher or hand-wash key items
Wipe counters
Refill water bottles
Take out frozen protein for tomorrow
Tiny resets protect your future self from decision fatigue.
5) Leftover Alchemy (When You're "Over It")
Use this formula when you're too tired to think:
Bowl: Leftover vegetables + protein + greens + sauce + acid
Soup: Broth + chopped leftovers + handful of greens
Tacos/Boats: Lettuce cups or spaghetti-squash boats + any protein + fermented vegetables
Frittata: Eggs + any vegetables/meat + oven at 375°F for 12–15 minutes in a greased skillet
Fried "Rice": Cauli rice + stray vegetables + scrambled egg + splash of tamari
6) Your Freezer = Savings Account
Deposit weekly. Withdraw on chaos days.
What to freeze:
Raw salmon portions (individually wrapped)
Cooked meatballs
Formed burger patties (parchment between each)
Quart bags of bone broth (freeze flat for easy stacking)
Cookie dough scoops (bake from frozen, add 2–3 minutes)
Cauli rice in flat bags
Label everything with date. Your overwhelmed Tuesday self will thank your organized Sunday self.
7) The Rainbow + Season Swap Chart
Pair colors with seasons for automatic variety and optimal nutrition:
Red: Beef or lentils + tomatoes/peppers/strawberries (vitamin C boosts iron absorption)
Orange: Pork or chickpeas + squash/carrots; finish with citrus
Yellow: Chicken + summer squash/corn; lemon + herbs
Green: Lamb/eggs + bitter greens/peas; mint or chimichurri
Blue/Purple: Salmon + purple cabbage/blueberries; lime + cilantro
White/Tan: Trout + mushrooms/cauliflower; garlic + miso or tahini
Seasonal lens:
Spring = bitter greens + lemon
Summer = raw/crisp + hydration
Fall = roots + warm spices
Winter = braise + beans + brassicas
8) Cauli Rice, Perfect Every Time
This is your swap for nutrient-void white rice or arsenic-lined brown rice. Make a big batch, use it for days.
Method:
1 head cauliflower (or 16 oz pre-riced)
Pulse florets in food processor to rice-sized pieces
Heat 1 Tbsp avocado oil in large skillet
Add "rice" + big pinch salt
Sauté 5–7 minutes until tender
Finish with squeeze of lemon
Storage: Keeps 3–4 days in fridge. Reheats in 90 seconds. Use anywhere you'd use rice.
Why it matters: Good food is just as easy as ordering takeout—only you feel great afterward. Your night can keep going and you feel good in the morning too. You can tell by the mental clarity you now have and the lack of nagging stomach ache, bloating, constipation, or acid reflux. All of these are warning signs from your body that it doesn't like what's happening.
9) Foundation Breakfasts (Pick One You'll Actually Do)
Master one. Rotate based on weather and schedule.
Option A: Warm Mushroom Bowl
The immune-supporting foundation:
1 cup mixed mushrooms, sliced
2–3 pasture-raised eggs
2 Tbsp avocado oil or grass-fed butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 handful fresh spinach (the sneaky greens!)
¼ avocado, sliced
Fresh herbs, sea salt, black pepper
Optional power-ups: Sauerkraut, everything bagel seasoning, hot sauce, leftover roasted vegetables
The morning ritual:
Heat oil in skillet over medium heat
Cook mushrooms until golden and meaty, 5–7 minutes
Add garlic, cook 30 seconds
Create wells, crack eggs into pan
Cover and cook until whites set but yolks runny, 3–4 minutes
Wilt spinach into the pan in the last minute
Transfer to bowl, top with avocado and herbs
The runny yolk becomes a natural sauce. This bowl provides sustained energy without blood sugar spikes.
Option B: Green Smoothie Foundation
The nutrient-dense base:
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (or milk of choice)
1 frozen banana (creaminess + natural sweetness)
1–2 cups fresh spinach or mild greens
¼ avocado (healthy fats + creaminess)
1 Tbsp almond butter or tahini
1 tsp vanilla extract
Flavor masks (choose your adventure):
Chocolate: 1 Tbsp cacao + 1 tsp maple syrup
Berry: ½ cup frozen berries
Tropical: 1 Tbsp coconut butter + lime juice
Snickerdoodle: 1 tsp cinnamon + 1 tsp maple syrup
Power boosters:
1 Tbsp chia seeds (omega-3s)
1 Tbsp collagen powder (gut health)
½ frozen zucchini (you can't taste it, I promise)
1 Tbsp coconut oil (sustained energy)
The transformation: Blend liquid + banana first, then greens, then everything else. Blend until completely smooth with no green flecks. The goal is a smoothie that tastes like chocolate or berries, not vegetables.
My kids drink this with me. There are kids all over the world who go savory in the morning, but smoothies are often the gateway that gets greens into reluctant eaters. Find what your taste buds prefer. Mix it up on weekends. Both approaches work—you just need one that fits your life.
10) What to Measure (And What Not To)
Forget: Perfection. Calorie math. Macro percentages.
Track how you feel:
AM energy level
Afternoon slump (yes/no)
Digestion (comfortable?)
Mood and focus
Sleep quality
If a meal leaves you clear-minded and steady—keep it. If not, edit the fat/sugar/portion or add more fiber/greens/acid.
Your body is the best data source you'll ever have.
11) Troubleshooting Real Life
Budget constraints?
Buy family packs; freeze portions
Choose "value cuts" (thighs instead of breasts, chuck instead of ribeye)
Seasonal produce is cheaper AND better
Batch cooking stretches expensive ingredients
Picky eaters?
Micro tastes (one bite, no pressure)
One safe food per meal
8–15 exposures before expecting acceptance
Let them help cook
Travel?
Wild-caught smoked salmon + fancy crackers
Nuts, fruit, clean-ingredient jerky
Hotel-room salads with rotisserie chicken
Pack a camping knife for those impossible packages
Burnout?
Swap to "assembly dinners" 3 nights per week (taco bar, bowl bar, soup bar)
You're building a lifestyle, not sitting an exam
One good meal per day is better than zero
12) Sample Week (Swap Freely)
Monday: Bone broth ramen bowls (zoodles/cauli rice, soft egg, vegetables)
Tuesday: Fish tacos + fermented cabbage + avocado crema
Wednesday: Air-fried chicken thighs + green beans + lemony cauli rice
Thursday: Smash burgers (lettuce wraps) + tomato-strawberry salad
Friday: Seasonal soup + crunchy vegetable tray
Saturday: Spaghetti-squash boats + Mom's meat sauce
Sunday: Breakfast-for-dinner (mushroom bowls or banana pancakes)
Dessert batch 1×/month: Power Cookies (freeze half)
Kitchen mantra: If there's time to lean, there's time to clean. She who cooks gets a break from the dishes. Give everyone a job.
The Dance of Mastery
Like learning a dance, making any recipe gets easier with practice. Do it enough times and the effort goes way down—you'll barely have to think about it.
Think of this as singing a song, catching a tune sung for countless generations of your ancestors, keeping the fire alive in your bloodstream and your children's. You just get to add your own lyrics.
You don't need to master all twelve at once. You don't need to be perfect. You just need to begin, with whichever recipe calls to you, in whatever way fits your life right now.
Remember: it takes a child seven times to like a new food. Give yourself some patience to catch up to your own transformation.
The Investment in Real
Maybe it feels expensive to swap to better ingredients. But this is real food. In France, people spend 20% of their budget on food. Maybe food should not be the cheapest thing we buy. It is literally foundational—the raw materials from which your body builds itself every single day.
And remember: fake Frankenstein food costs us way more in health bills, disease management, and expensive workout classes trying to compensate for poor nutrition. Still take the classes if you like them, but don't depend on them alone to make you feel good. The food comes first. The working out is for your mental health and the joy of movement.
My muffin top melted away when I chose real food, even when I stopped working out for a time due to scheduling constraints. I ended up picking up the workout habit again, but not to wear down my body parts trying to burn off bad food—but because moving a well-nourished body feels so damn good.
Bottom line: Systems beat willpower every time. Master your twelve. Build your rhythms. Trust your body. The transformation you're looking for is waiting in the daily practice of these simple, nourishing patterns.
